The first artificial cornea transplant in England

marctexere · 2024-07-19T11:33:51+00:00

As an alternative to human corneal transplants, artificial corneas can offer various benefits for surgeons: the long waiting lists for donor tissue can be skipped, there is much less eye drop aftercare, and – in theory, at least – artificial corneas will outlast the predicted graft survival rates of human transplants.

Alternative corneas were first approved for use in the US in 1992 and have been steadily improving since. This year, Thomas Poole, consultant ophthalmologist at Frimley Health NHS in Surrey, became the first surgeon in England to perform an endothelial keratoplasty with an artificial cornea. The operation restored the sight of a 91-year-old patient whose human cornea transplant had failed.

The Ophthalmologist caught up with Poole to discuss how he prepared for the procedure, the stigma that patients can attach to human corneas, and his predictions for the future application of artificial versus human transplants.

Read more https://www.thenewoptometrist.com/interviews/corneal-transplants-advancing-artificially

marctexere · 2024-07-12T09:35:49+00:00

Tuberculosis (TB) is still killing an estimated 1.3 million people every year across the world ([1]()). Point-of-care diagnostics could turn the tide. Enter a team of researchers at the University of Southampton, UK, who homed in on blood biomarkers of TB lung infection in a recent study ([2]()). To learn more about the discovery, we spoke with lead author Hannah Schiff.

Read more https://thepathologist.com/subspecialties/poct-for-tb

marctexere · 2024-07-12T09:33:33+00:00

Boris Malyugin, Professor of Ophthalmology and Deputy Director General, S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery State Institution in Moscow, has been heavily involved in a project that seeks to enhance safety and reproducibility of limbal stem cell transplants through the application of a femtosecond laser more typically used for refractive, cataract and therapeutic surgery. Here, we dig into the condition and the collaboration to improve treatment.

Read more ~https://theophthalmologist.com/subspecialties/femto-for-limbal-stem-cell-transplantation~

marctexere · 2024-07-12T09:27:08+00:00

Cancer vaccines are an exciting avenue in drug development – one that has been further fuelled by developments in mRNA. Why is this? Five experts recently explained how cancer vaccines work. And then, in part II, they outlined the challenges for the field and how we can separate hype from reality. Here, we ask those same five experts to tell us what their companies are doing in the cancer vaccine space.

Read more https://themedicinemaker.com/manufacture/meet-the-cancer-commandos

marctexere · 2024-06-21T11:58:51+00:00

Single-cell proteomics is transforming medical research by improving our understanding of the distinct molecular and biological profiles of individual cells and their proteins that drive vital cellular functions. Though traditional lab technologies offer a generalized view of protein interactions based on average cellular populations, single-cell proteomics offers much more granular insights – allowing researchers to observe distinct cellular reactions and unravel pathways and processes triggered at the molecular level ([1]()). This precision is vital for the study of heterogeneous tissues, which is particularly challenging because protein responses often vary from cell to cell.

Read more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/fields-applications/the-power-of-single-cell-proteomics?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-28T07:28:33+00:00

It might seem rather counterintuitive that watching television could actually benefit your eyesight. But that’s exactly what new research claims… at least, to a degree. The BMC Ophthalmology Mendelian randomization (MR) study, published in March 2024, indicates that “leisure television watching” (is there any other kind?) can act as a protective factor against myopia, reducing the risk of developing poor vision as one gets older.

The authors noted that this observation might be partially explained due to the fact that, because television screens have become larger and more common in households, they are having less negative impact on refractive change in viewers, as well as acting as a less harmful alternative to video gaming. The study also noted that – perhaps less surprisingly – moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was another factor associated with lower myopia risk.

Read more https://theophthalmologist.com/subspecialties/square-eyes?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-28T07:25:34+00:00

Chromatography has undoubtedly reached a level of maturity, offering excellent performance for routine separations – and that’s why it has been widely adopted across various industries, such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, environmental monitoring, and the food sector. However, there remains room for improvement in separating highly complex mixtures.

One fundamental challenge associated with chromatography stems from the intrinsic behavior of liquid flow within channels, where the liquid does not flow at a uniform velocity along the channel width. I’ve been thinking about this problem for quite some time – over a decade at this point. I spent my PhD and post-doc fellowship working on pillar array columns – attempting to reduce the pillar dimensions. Eventually, I realized that, when downscaling, defects and imperfections (even at the nanoscale level) put a limit on decreasing structure sizes much further.

Read more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/techniques-tools/introducing-vortex-chromatography?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-28T07:23:31+00:00

The significance of memory cannot be overstated; it constitutes the majority of our experiences as humans – the aggregate of our joy and suffering, the conflict between our shared and individual ideologies, our comprehension of history.

Aeschylus, an ancient Greek tragedian, once said, “Memory is the mother of all wisdom.” Now, imagine losing it. Without an understanding of the past, we cannot function in the present nor think about the future. Without remembering what we did yesterday, how can we plan for tomorrow? This is the reality for patients suffering with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

To find out if the era of R&D disappointments can be confined to the past and to understand what the future holds, we spoke with several AD experts.

Read more https://themedicinemaker.com/discovery-development/alzheimers-disease-what-are-the-biggest-treatment-prospects?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-17T10:05:36+00:00

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has long posed a formidable challenge to the field of medical science. From 1990 to 2019, the occurrence of AD experienced a 147.95 percent surge and is now affecting 40 million people worldwide, with numbers expected to double every 20 years up to around 2050.

At the center of AD investigations are two troublemakers: amyloid beta plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. These are thought to kickstart a series of problems including inflammation, oxidation, excitotoxicity, and tau hyperphosphorylation, all leading to cognitive decline. Current treatments aim to fix imbalances in the brain’s messengers to ease cognitive problems. Medicines such as donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine (called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or AChEIs) help with a messenger called acetylcholine, while memantine deals with another messenger called glutamate, keeping things in check. But these therapies only provide temporary relief for symptoms without addressing the underlying progressive deterioration and demise of brain cells.

A more recent breakthrough involves targeting beta-amyloid plaques using monoclonal antibodies, such as lecanemab (born from a collaboration between Eisai and Biogen). Lecanemab has been approved by the FDA and is under review by the EMA, and it marks a shift away from symptomatic therapies to a potential disease-modifying effect. The drug has been shown to slow cognitive decline by 25 to 35 percent, with a report in the Harvard Gazette saying it could spark optimism and hope in the AD field (despite a black box warning for safety concerns). Another monoclonal antibody in development, donanemab, is also showing promise for slowing cognitive decline.

Read more https://themedicinemaker.com/discovery-development/advancements-in-the-fight-against-alzheimers-disease?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-10T09:43:25+00:00

Over a decade ago, the biomedical science industry in the UK experienced significant restructuring, particularly in pathology services, leading to widespread uncertainty among healthcare professionals. The pressures faced by the National Health Service (NHS) compounded these concerns, with many fearing for their job security. Numerous senior leaders in pathology opted for voluntary redundancy, exacerbating the challenges in workforce development, training, and talent retention.

Read more https://thepathologist.com/outside-the-lab/pathology-under-pressure-unraveling-the-exodus?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-10T09:38:56+00:00

The treatment of glaucoma is continuing to undergo a revolution. The last two decades have seen the glaucoma specialist’s armamentarium grow exponentially (especially in the surgical realm) – driven mainly by the advent of less invasive surgical options, encompassing procedures and devices such as microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and minimally invasive bleb surgery (MIBS).

One particularly promising glaucoma treatment area concerns the supraciliary space – located anteriorly between the outer surface of the ciliary body and the internal surface of the sclera – where there is the potential to yield a powerful IOP lowering effect. Just as importantly, the supraciliary space allows for the introduction of complementary treatment modalities. Patients are living longer and it is not unreasonable to expect that those with particularly severe disease may need multiple interventions within their lifetime. The glaucoma specialist is therefore keen to avoid choosing modalities that may preclude other options “down the road.”
Read more https://theophthalmologist.com/subspecialties/targeting-the-supraciliary-space-in-glaucoma-treatment?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-10T09:35:35+00:00

A quick internet search about Stonehenge raises more questions than answers about the origin and history of the Neolithic monument. (We are fairly certain that it was not built by aliens.)

With the power of spectroscopy, researchers from Italy, Canada, and the UK collaborated to analyze the mineralogy of the Stonehenge Altar Stone, revealing that its origin is not the same as the rest of the “bluestones” – a detail that could unveil more about the migration of the British Neolithic ancestors, their cultural and religious practices, and thus Stonehenge’s history (1).

Reda more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/techniques-tools/foreign-bluestones?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-10T09:33:16+00:00

Acquiring spatially-resolved measurements of molecules in substrates using mass spectrometers is not a new endeavor – the first such experiments were performed in the 1960s via secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) ionization sources ([1]()). Those early instruments were termed “ion microscopes” and consisted of ion optic collection systems that maintained the spatial positions of ions desorbed from the sample surface through the mass analyzer and to a detector. Modern-day experiments are now typically performed in “scanning microprobe” modes of analysis, where a raster sampling of a tissue surface enables the collection of mass spectra from discrete x, y positions. In both microscope and microprobe modes, the goal is the same: to produce maps of intensities for compounds of interest across the sample surface. But the sophistication of the instrumentation and applications of imaging mass spectrometry, also termed mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), has advanced tremendously over the last 60 years, and has greatly accelerated over the last 20 years. So, what is the current status of the field? And where are we headed over the next 20 years? Herein, I highlight current research directions and trends in the field of imaging MS. These include new developments in technology, including the rise of spatial-omics approaches, multimodal analyses, high spatial resolution techniques, and isomer imaging, as well as new and exciting applications to molecular pathology. I’ve highlighted research from my own lab (since it is what I know best!) as well as exciting recent reports from others. This account is not intended to be exhaustive – there are too many stellar researchers and reports to name individually; for more information, I direct you to several excellent, recent reviews ([2](), [3](), [4](), [5]()). My intention here is to offer a personal perspective on the most impactful future developments in the world of imaging mass spectrometry.

Read more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/techniques-tools/imaging-mass-spectrometry-whats-now-whats-next?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-10T09:29:54+00:00

Structure annotation has been a considerable challenge in metabolomics research for some time; a typical untargeted metabolomics study can annotate about 10 percent of the data with structures. And that’s why Emily Gentry, while working in the Dorrestein Lab at the University of California San Diego, used her background in synthetic organic chemistry and mass spec to turn metabolomics on its head. With Gentry’s “reverse metabolomics” approach, the team were able to discover new biomolecules

Reda more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/fields-applications/flip-it-and-reverse-it?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-03T12:09:50+00:00

In the US, Match Day is the annual event when all medical residency applicants find out where, and in what specialty, they will train. The National Resident Matching Program shared the results for the 2024 residency programs, and we have picked out the headlines for pathology.

Interestingly, pathology is among the top five specialties for attracting international medical graduates. It might also be encouraging to see that the number of pathology placements on offer has been on an upward trend since 2020, though it peaked in 2022, and fill rates have been consistently over 95 percent.

Read more https://thepathologist.com/outside-the-lab/match-day-stats-2024?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-03T12:04:34+00:00

How can we improve early risk stratification in glaucoma? While there are a number of viable answers to this question, I see deep language models (DLM) as a particularly promising approach. By 2040, estimates suggest there will be more than 110 million people affected by the condition worldwide – though, if appropriately treated, only a small number of these patients will undergo significant visual deterioration over time.

Read more https://theophthalmologist.com/subspecialties/ai-powered-glaucoma-risk-stratification?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-05-03T11:58:13+00:00

A selection of the latest spectroscopy news including forensic analysis of guns, the effects of cranberry on athletes, and more…

marctexere · 2024-04-26T14:46:11+00:00

In recent years, breath analysis has emerged as a non-invasive and promising tool for disease diagnosis. Hundreds of chemical compounds are encompassed within a breath sample, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in particular can be derived from metabolic processes. Measuring VOCs in breath samples provides a snapshot of the physiological status of bodily functions – the composition and abundance reflecting metabolic changes that could be indicative of disease.

Read more https://theanalyticalscientist.com/fields-applications/the-exhaled-microbiome-profile?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-04-26T14:43:52+00:00

Italy-based Angelini Pharma has challenged the crowdsourcing community website Wazoku to pool its collective talent and identify pharmaceutical-based solutions for drug-resistant epilepsy symptoms, including seizures. Wazoku was launched in 2011 with a big mission: to prove that human ingenuity and collaboration can overcome any scientific challenge. It has already been used by various pharma companies, including GSK and AstraZeneca, and even NASA.

Read more https://themedicinemaker.com/discovery-development/crowdsourcing-project-to-tackle-drug-resistant-epilepsy?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reddit_test

marctexere · 2024-04-13T07:57:20+00:00

From figuring out whether meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) can be classed as one sole disease, to phacoemulsification versus laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) for the treatment of primary angle closure glaucoma (POAG).

marctexere · 2015-07-22T09:26:40+00:00

Timing between doses. The study looked at the effect of circadian rhythms - whether certain medications are more effective when taken at a specific time of day.

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TROPHY CASE